Methods, systems, and devices for three-dimensional object generation and physical mask curing

An apparatus, comprising:

• a light source configured to emit light;
• a vessel including:
• a chamber configured to contain a volume of print material;
• and
• a transparent base through which light can be received into the chamber to cure a portion of the volume of print material;
• a set of masks substrate with carbon-based ink portions and non-ink portions, the ink portions defining a series of patterns associated with layers of a three-dimensional (3D) object, the set of masks positionable between the light source and the transparent base to control a pattern of the light that is received through the transparent base and into the chamber;
• and
• wherein the light emitted by the light source is ultraviolet (UV) light, and the set of masks includes a substrate with etched areas that are transmissive to UV light and nonetched areas that block UV light.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a light source configured to emit light;
• a vessel including:
• a chamber configured to contain a volume of print material;
• and
• a transparent base through which light can be received into the chamber to cure a portion of the volume of print material;
• a set of masks defining a series of patterns associated with layers of a three-dimensional (3D) object, the set of masks positionable between the light source and the transparent base to control a pattern of the light that is received through the transparent base and into the chamber;
• wherein the vessel further includes a reservoir configured to hold a volume of cleaning fluid separate from the volume of print material, the reservoir being selectively coupleable to the chamber to release the volume of cleaning fluid into the chamber;
• a mask carrier configured to store the set of masks,
• the mask carrier including a window configured to expose individual masks from the set of masks and positionable between the light source and the transparent base,
• the mask carrier configured to position the individual masks in the window according to a predefined sequence;
• wherein the mask carrier includes a near field communication (NFC) tag including information associated with the set of masks, the apparatus further including a NFC tag reader configured to read the NFC tag to retrieve the information;
• and
• wherein the information associated with the set of masks includes at least one of:
• a number of masks in the set of masks, a height of each layer of the 3D object, a light exposure time required to form each layer of the 3D object, a distance between adjacent masks from the set of masks, or a size of each of the set of masks.

An apparatus comprising:

• a light source configured to emit light;
• a vessel including:
• a chamber configured to contain a volume of print material;
• and
• a transparent base through which light can be received into the chamber to cure a portion of the volume of print material;
• a set of masks defining a series of patterns associated with layers of a three-dimensional (3D) object, the set of masks positionable between the light source and the transparent base to control a pattern of the light that is received through the transparent base and into the chamber, wherein each of the masks includes a paper or polymer substrate with ink portions and non-ink portions, the ink portions defining the series of patterns and blocking a portion of the light from the light source from passing therethrough;
• a mask carrier configured to store the set of masks, the mask carrier including a window configured to expose individual masks from the set of masks and positionable between the light source and the transparent base, the mask carrier configured to position the individual masks in the window according to a predefined sequence;
• and
• a support structure including:
• a slot configured to receive a portion of the mask carrier;
• and
• a coupling mechanism configured to receive a portion of the vessel and defining an opening configured to align with the transparent base of the vessel, the coupling mechanism disposed above the slot such that the opening and the transparent base can be disposed above and in alignment with the individual masks.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a light source configured to emit light;
• a vessel including:
• a chamber configured to contain a volume of print material;
• and
• a transparent base through which light can be received into the chamber to cure a portion of the volume of print material;
• a set of masks defining a series of patterns associated with layers of a three-dimensional (3D) object, the set of masks positionable between the light source and the transparent base to control a pattern of the light that is received through the transparent base and into the chamber;
• wherein the vessel further includes a reservoir configured to hold a volume of cleaning fluid separate from the volume of print material, the reservoir being selectively coupleable to the chamber to release the volume of cleaning fluid into the chamber;
• and
• wherein the vessel includes a build arm including an inner lumen that functions as the reservoir, the build arm rotatable to selectively couple the reservoir to the chamber such that the volume of cleaning fluid can be released into the chamber.